A pilot project for the long-term development of a reference settlement is being implemented in the Sabinsky district of Tatarstan

The first rural agglomeration, Sabinskaya, will be formed in Tatarstan. A pilot project is being implemented on the territory of this municipal district – a program for the long-term development of a reference settlement: Rich Sabov. This was announced today by the head of the district, Rais Minnikhanov, and the director of the Institute of Spatial Planning of the Republic of Tatarstan, Oleg Grigoriev, as part of the regional Tatarstan day of the II All–Russian forum "Small Motherland – the Strength of Russia".

As part of the long-term development plan for Rich Suburbs, for example, it is planned to build a vascular center in the amount of 180.1 million rubles, and over 863 million more will be allocated for the reconstruction of access roads to the facility. 640 million rubles will be allocated for the construction of sewage networks in the settlement, the gymnasium will be renovated for 730 million and other measures will be carried out. The works will also cover the settlements adjacent to Oporny (Rich Subs).

"If this concept of long–term development of anchor settlements is adopted at the federal center level, it will be a real step towards preserving small settlements in the country," said Minnikhanov.

He added that the pilot project needs the support of various ministries, such as the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

According to Grigoriev, Tatarstan has completed work on the development of master plans for the Kazan and Kama agglomerations. They are at the stage of approval by the authorities of the republic. A master plan has been developed for the Almetyevsk agglomeration. However, the Institute of Spatial Planning concluded that these three agglomerations are not the main territory of the republic, which does not cover even half of the 65 mainstay settlements of Tatarstan.

"Most of the republic's territory is located outside the agglomeration. When dealing with the development of agglomerations and large cities, we must not forget about rural areas and strongholds. Realizing the importance of this issue, last year, together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan and the municipal administration, we developed a long–term development plan for the Sabinsky district," Grigoriev said.

Daria Ryabukhina, acting director of the Rural Development Department of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, said that there are 155.1 thousand settlements in the country, of which only 319 are large cities. The rest are rural areas and small towns of up to 50,000 people. However, 40% of the Russian population lives in them.

According to Ryabukhina, within the framework of the approved spatial development strategy of the Russian Federation until 2030, work is underway to restructure all national projects in terms of prioritizing the development of social, engineering, transport and other infrastructure of support settlements, of which 2.2 thousand have been identified in the country. Among them is the integrated rural development program. Over the 5 years of its implementation, 14 million Russians have felt its effect, 11.5 thousand settlements have been covered. Financing from the federal budget amounted to 280 billion rubles, and 116 billion rubles have been allocated this year.

First of all, those from the strongholds for which long-term development plans have already been developed are involved in this work. They should appear in all such settlements. The Russian Ministry of Construction, Ryabukhina said, will evaluate the quality of the environment in the strongholds according to 15 parameters.

Rais Minnikhanov said that Sabinsky District has been participating in the Integrated Rural Development program since 2020, which is co-financed by the republican budget and private investors. He noted the improvement in the quality of life in the district: social facilities, sewage treatment plants were built, landscaping was carried out and other projects totaling 3.5 billion rubles were implemented.